Archives for May 2012

We wrap up our exploration of Visual Weight today! With this Exploring with a Camera theme, have you been noticing how visual weight is a fundamental contributor to great composition? Find the weight, and you find the focal point of the image!

This image from Korkula uses several concepts we discussed in Exploring with a Camera: Visual Weight to bring the focus to the pot of flowers: Illumination, bright color, and off-center placement.

What have you found in your images? You still have time to link in and share with us today! Or, just explore the links below for some great examples of Visual Weight from participants.

I love the bright flowers and the sense of fun they bring to my feet. When I’m wearing them it’s as if I’m saying, “Here I am, look at me! This is who I am! I’m not afraid to be bright and flower-y!” For so long I’ve tried to blend in, to go unnoticed through life. Don’t look at me. Don’t notice who I really am. But now I’m ok with who I am. I don’t mind people knowing that there is something more to me than the exterior. There are bright flowers and fun living in this skin.

I love that I got them in Venice. When we lived in Italy, I walked my son three blocks to his school every day. When it was rainy, I would come home with soaking wet feet and pants no matter how hard I tried to avoid the puddles. So, I was on the lookout for rainboots when I saw these in a shop window on one of my many trips to Venice. They were perfect. I was so excited to get them home, I couldn’t wait for it to rain.

Upon wearing them in that first rain, I discovered these boots hurt my feet terribly. When I put them on, everything feels ok. That’s why I bought them, they felt great in the store. It’s not until I walk a block or two that the pain sets in. I have wide feet and they are just a smidge too tight. They don’t have any flexibility and it’s as if my feet slowly become pinched in a vice.

They are so painful, I never wear them anymore. I almost gave them to someone this year. But every time I tried to give them away, I couldn’t do it. I love these boots and what they represent. So they’ve been sitting next to our coat rack, looking cute as an umbrella stand.

Until yesterday morning, when we had a break in the rain. As I looked outside at the sun going in and out of the clouds I had the idea to head to the park for some self-portraits in my lovely rainboots and a pink umbrella. At least they could be useful as a photo prop. For an hour, I had fun playing with my camera. I discovered the distance limit of my remote control. I played with focus and depth of field. I played with poses. All in the park in my bright rainboots without worry about what a soul around me might think. See? They bring me confidence. I love these boots.

But after an hour, my feet hurt so much I couldn’t run back and forth to the camera anymore. Nothing, and I mean nothing, ever felt as good as getting back to the car and changing out of these boots. It took a while, even then, for my feet to stop hurting. I just can’t wear them. I’m not willing to sacrifice comfort for cuteness anymore. I hate these boots.

If you choose to focus your attention on the strengths of others, on the virtues of others, on that part of others that strives for the highest, you run through your system the higher frequency currents of appreciation, acceptance and love.
— Gary Zukav in The Seat of the Soul

There it is again, the concept of focusing on the good. It popped up in my morning reading today, this time around seeing the good in others.

When we focus on what we perceive as faults, annoyances and shortcomings in others, that becomes all we see. It shapes our interactions. It sets up expectations. We look for the fulfillment of those expectations. Our perception of a person spirals down, down, down. One thing leads to another until our “reality” of that person is negative.

But look at it from the opposite perspective. If we focus on the strengths of others, we see things in a different light. We can look for things a person does well and that we appreciate. We can stop assuming motivations for actions. We can realize we don’t know another’s mind or intentions. Our “reality” of that person changes, because “reality” is subjective.

All it takes is a slight shift to one side.

Zukav goes on to say, “As you come to seek and see the virtues and strengths and nobilities of others, you begin to seek and see them in yourself also.”

Interesting concept, huh? We can’t forgive ourselves and sit in judgment of others at the same time. We can’t see the bad in others and expect to see the good in ourselves.

Don’t we all want to see ourselves in a good way? To see ourselves loving, caring and forgiving beings that want to move forward and grow? So many of us struggle to create a positive self-image. We see our faults and weaknesses and not our strengths.

Maybe we need to start by seeing the best in others, to see the best in ourselves.

I’m sitting here looking at my image “queue” this morning and realized with all of my San Francisco images I’ve shared, I never posted an image of the Golden Gate Bridge. You can’t miss this icon when you visit, it’s a must see. Enjoy!

Isn’t it funny how when something comes up in your consciousness, you suddenly notice it everywhere? Like getting a new car. Suddenly you notice how many of the same car are on the road. Your awareness helps you see what was already there.

Last week, when I wrote Focus on the Good, it was unrelated to anything else that was going on for me. Since then, the concept of “focusing on the good” has come up numerous times. It’s coming up in books I’m reading, in conversations with others, and in my own self-examination of things going on around me. I keep seeing how focusing on the good brings me to a better place. It keeps me moving forward, instead of wallowing and getting stuck.

In general, I consider myself an optimistic personality. When I run into a problem, I don’t get stuck. I say, “OK, here I am. What am I going to do about it?” I’m a problem solver. I think you have to be optimistic to solve problems. If you believe there is no solution to something, there won’t be. It’s a self-fulfilling prophecy.

But maybe the “problems” don’t always need “solved.” Maybe it’s just a matter of seeing what’s good in a situation, and going with that. I wonder, would the “problems” dissolve away, in that case? It’s something for me to think about. I see some interesting possibilities in the idea of problem dissolving rather than solving. As if maybe, some of the problems aren’t really problems in the first place.

You can see the dandelions as weeds, or as a pretty yellow flower. Your actions will be different, depending on how you look at the situation.

Focus on the good. Dissolving problems. I might be playing with this idea here for a while. I think there is something to it.

It’s 5am on a Sunday and I’m wondering what I’m doing awake. The sun isn’t even up yet; the sky is barely lightening. My husband is snoring peacefully down the hall. I get up early most mornings but I expect to sleep in, at least a little, on the weekends. Not get up even earlier than I do on weekdays. I guess my body is ready for the day, even if my brain isn’t!

I had great success in the spring cleaning of my studio yesterday. It feels so good to have a clean space. Aaaaahhhhh. Today will be more cleaning, but this time in my virtual space. My email inboxes need to be cleaned out. They’ve gotten quite cluttered and when that happens I start to miss important information. For some reason it’s not as satisfying as cleaning in the real world but it must be done.

I thought I’d continue with the “laundry” theme I started in yesterday’s post with this image from Korkula, Croatia. It’s not laundry, actually, but a store display with a laundry. I loved the repetition of these cute, colorful baby shirts against the warm stone. An effective advertisement, don’t you think?

Happy Sunday to you! I’m off to journal and read a bit before the house wakes up. Quiet time is the reward for being up at 5am.